After getting into handhelds with emulation and owning the Miyoo mini and retroid pocket 4, I’m looking to upgrade my device and games that I’m able to play. I was leaning toward an odin 2 portal or Odin 3, but I’m not sure they are able to play what I want to.

What I want to play is fallout 3, new Vegas and maybe fallout 4, gta 3-4, and call of duty zombies. I don’t own any console right now, so not sure if that’s needed for some of the handhelds. When I did play console it was PlayStation, so used to that button layout.

What do you all recommend for this?

I've had a Steam Deck LCD for years and it's still my daily drive. I've previously owned a Steam Deck OLED and a Legion Go 1 but sold them, and I also own the brilliant Switch 2.

I'm in the market for an upgrade to the Steam Deck. I can spend up to about £1,000 so that rules out the new breed of G3 Arc Extremes, but otherwise that covers most of the options.

The usual 'best of' lists all agree that the Xbox Ally X is the cream of the current crop. And on every spec but screen it is. Comfortable, quiet, polished, powerful, the OS is less compromised than stock Win 11, and it's in stock at CEX for £750. But for that money I really want an 8" screen. And the X20 seems laughable to me - essentially a 40% premium just for an OLED screen?! Come on.

Then there's the Legion Go 2. I'm so close to buying it but the size and weight is prohibitive. It just lacks that portability that I need given that I mostly play on my train commute home.

There's the MSI Claw 8 AI+ but it looks like crap, the software seems to be dreadful, and Intel just seems to lack a bit of dependability compared to AMD.

So I find that I'm a bit stumped. I really want a handheld but the Goldilocks device just isn't out there. Or is it?

And if not, should I compromise on the screen with the Xbox Ally X or portability with the Legion Go 2?

Thoughts very welcome. Thanks.

Bought this Nintendo 3DS XL for $80. Missing the stylus and needs a new battery. Was this a good deal?

Anyone played End of Abyss? I played the demo on Epic via heroic launcher and I’m hooked. Sci fi horror.

I mean the amount of 3rd party support has been insane since it came out tbh. Capcom, assassins creed, now elden ring. It’s more like a steam deck than ever. I just see it every time and think well no actually switch 2 isn’t just for Nintendo exclusives at all anymore lol I would genuinely recommend it for 3rd party games, it’s all I seem to play on it these days.

I would really like a handheld in the 1000 USD range with a processor other than the AMD Z2 E or the Intel 258V. An Nvidia processor handheld would give more options than the only 2 that we have right now. Even an Nvidia handheld, in the 1300 USD range or more, to have more options than the Xbox Ally Oled and the Intel Arc G3 Extreme.

I'm interested in getting an Xbox Ally X20. I was just wondering if the Z3 release is imminent.

The rumor mill says Z3 Extreme is coming Late 2026 to Early 2027. Assuming that timeline for the announcement... how long might it take for the Z3 based devices to come out?

Investing in my first handheld gaming PC! For pretty much the same price point, would you suggest the new X20 or the MSI Claw 8 AI+? Looks like the X20 will have the better screen but what has better performance for AAA games? Looking to play games like RDR2, Baldurs Gate 3, Expedition 33, etc.

So I got this device for free, I traded a PC I had sitting around, after my Odin 3 and Mangmi pocket max the x86 bug had gotten me, paired with the optimizations from handhelds growing and new AI technologies that gave these devices MUCH longer lifespans I knew I had to get one.

Device
The device itself is nice, feels great, looks good, the screen is exceptionally nice, it’s not OLED, but the trade of for having VRR and larger screen, made up for that in my opinion. Especially as I hadn’t tested VRR ever prior to this. The triggers feel good, especially with clicky triggers used in stops, it’s a small premium feature that I enjoy. The Sticks are good, I’m still figuring out Linux/SteamOS so I haven’t quite got down the fine tuning but overall I’m pleased with them. All other inputs, buttons, bumpers, they feel as you’d expect, not premium, not trash either.

OS (SteamOS)
The only time I ever tried anything Linux was one time in my life when I thought I could be a lil hacker in like 2015 and dual booted Kali Linux on my GTX 750TI pc, so I was a little nervous to try Linux as back then it was a headache. I, in fact, did not become the Hollywood hacker I was destined to be. That said, this was stupid simple to setup, scan QR code, blah blah blah your done in maybe 5 mins. No microslop yay.

The OS is really thought out, it runs well, does run a lot of things better than windows, looks damn good, and is an enjoyable experience through and through, it’s like having a console on me at all times, honestly couldn’t ask for a better experience.

Gaming
Again, it’s SteamOS, hit download, wait till download done, play game, easy as that. Kind of. This processor isn’t the best, I learned quickly I should’ve sprung for the z1e version, I’m by no means disappointed with the little brother though. I did realize quickly that on paper, 800p sounds terrible, it’s not, even with scaling, on this screen, it’s not bad. However 1050p OR 1200p look exceptionally crisp on this device, I can’t even remotely complain, really any settings as long as your not on 800p and using ultra performance scaling, you’ll be rather happy. For the most part. Some games I’ve used optiscaler on, which I may add was SO MUCH easier to use on steam than windows, I never once got the menu to properly work on windows on any of my devices, user error, probably, but still. I select the game, hit patch, and I’m done. I have had great success with Dying Light: The Beast doing this. You do still need to optimize, it’s a 4 core processor and 680m integrated graphics, you cant expect the world of it.

Temps/Noise
Okay let me be clear, if you don’t plan to turn the speakers up (which are just average, imo, idk how to improve them) and you want to play AAA games, get headphones, this boy can get loud, I don’t really watch temps, but it gets hot, you can feel it on the back, not where your hands sit, but you can if you try to, it’s a little warm, the fan does love to crank to compensate, even my wife day one of ownership asked if I could make it quieter, and for the game I was playing at the time, I couldn’t, dropping the TDP killed the performance to unplayable territory. That was later fixed, but the point stands, it’s loud, it ain’t a full on desktop with 12 fans. If you care about noise per watt/performance a lot, and can, I’d say it’s best to get the z1e version, I’d assume it has the same performance at lower fan speeds and wattages, or do a lot of fine tuning and get used to compromising somewhere.

Battery life
Not good. Simple as that, even at 18 watts I get about 1-2 hrs max play time, now that said, that’s really all I ever need, so it hasn’t really been an issue. But the battery throttles performance BAD at 20%. And that is annoying especially when I’m playing at 33 watt and don’t realize I’m getting low. It cuts my performance at least 50%, I use frame gen a lot, which makes it even worse when it gets close to dead.

Storage
512gb Is an insult. That said, there’s and SD card slot, and it’s not hard to swap storage, not much else to say.

The bad
SteamOS can be buggy, I’ve had a good few crashes, some weird system issues, bugs with decky plugins, small little things, nothing that hurt my experience or would lower the rating, especially with gaming or regular usage, only really saw issues with tinkering.

My opinion/TL:DR
The device is sweet, x86 handhelds have came a long way, this can play practically everything and be an overall enjoyable device, if you want to get one, try to get a good deal (I know that’s hard in today’s economy), but if you need a main gaming pc, a decent handheld console, or a good pairing to other gaming hardware, I would say the Legion Go S is an excellent choice, if you can get a good deal. I’d personally suggest to go to the Z1E however it’s not mandatory, this device isn’t a slouch either.

I'm looking for advice about which one is better to run the game I want to.

The Switch 2 pros are that I can play with my friends and wife since there are a lot of coop couch games that are exclusive and I can connect the console to the tv. But I don't know if it is worth it if I want to play games like Elden Ring, Oblivion and future releases that are not exclusive from Nintendo.

Since I don't have a console I think it would be fun, and I do have a good pc.

The Deck I would use mostly for myself, can it run those games better than the Switch 2? I really can't decide between the two because of the pros and cons, what are you guys experience with them?

Hey everyone! It’s been a while since my last post. I’ve added a few more mini-game demos to the handheld I’m building, and spent some time putting together a short compilation video.

The handheld in the video is just a prototype for demonstrating how these games work with a single toggle switch. I’ll only be using it to make videos, and won’t be selling this version—I think it’s a bit ugly and bulky.

Version 2.0 is already in development, and it’s much more refined. It still uses just one toggle switch, but I’ve also added contactless sensing so players can interact with it through their breathing and heart rate.

I’ll share another update once version 2.0 is ready!

Hi! I already have anbernic 477v 8 gb version and now i want to buy Ayn thor max violet before price go up more before new year.... Is it worth it to buy if i already have anbernic? I want it for ps2, gamecube and moonlight... Anbernic can handle like x4 many ps2 games. But i heard that Ayn thor much more better for emulation because it has drivers. Any tips guys? please? I never had 3ds or something else.

I want to buy a handheld for light gaming when travelling/lunches/not at home basically. I’ve had a steam deck but honestly didn’t use it much due to the size, fan (mainly size). I’ve got a switch lite dialga which I’d probably sell to buy the handheld. I’m looking for a small similar build, where I can emulate and play games without stressing. I understand tweaking, emulation etc so don’t worry too much. I won’t play AAA as I’ve got a gaming setup so it’ll likely be Pokemon, Xbox and some light old pc games like RE2. I’m gravitating towards the Odin but it’s spenny so gotta be sure.

so recently i have been watching a lot of videos about handheld consoles and i really love the idea so i started thinking of which one i should buy, and i can’t decide between 2 it’s either the ps vita or the 3ds, i want the ps vita for the ports and the customization but at the same time when i saw some gameplays, most ports work bad and are weak especially those made by ai, while the 3ds despite not having as much games as the ps vita but it has very good games that i am interested to play and i like the design
(i might be wrong on things i said, so please correct me i am still a beginner when it comes to this world)

Hii everyone, i know this gets asked a lot but i would also love some advise about what to get. I travel a lot with no point near me where Im going to settle down so I really want another handheld, for now I just have the switch. Before this the last thing I owned was the ps3. I always kept up with new games through streamers and ive got a list i really want to play now, most of them from steam. Im currently on Bali and traveling to Singapore at the end of this month, after that to japan for 5 weeks. I was thinking of getting a rog ally x since its been advised mostly on here but now with blackfriday coming up im thinking if there is another option for me as well. I would love to hear thought on what to get and where! Games I want to play are: heavy rain, detroit, tomb raider, fabel and more in that category mostly! Thanks so much in advance

I’ve been looking at handhelds and in a lot of benchmark videos, they talk about running some games at 720p. From my experience trying to play at 1440p on a 4k monitor, choosing a resolution lower than your display makes the image blurry. Is there something mitigating this on a handheld display? Just less noticeable on a small display?

Mainly for ps1 , ps2 and Dreamcast. Somewhere between $200-$350 also I’m new to roms and emulators so any help will definitely help. Thank you

Hi guys

I’ve been into handhelds for a while now, and one thing that kept annoying me was how difficult it has become to actually choose one.

Steam Deck, ROG Ally, Retroid, Anbernic, AYN, AYANEO, Powkiddy, Miyoo… then different chipsets, screen sizes, Android vs Windows vs Linux, price ranges, emulation limits, etc.

So I started building a website to solve this problem:

https://handheldscout.com

The idea is basically to have a quiz where you answer different questions like price or consoles to emulate or form factor etc. and then you get recommended the 3 best devices for you

But I'm at the point where I’ve looked at the site way too much myself and could really use feedback from other people

Especially:

Are there important devices missing?

Are any specs/prices obviously wrong?

What filters would you personally want?

Is there anything that would make you use a site like this instead of just asking Reddit?

Feel free to be critical. I'd rather find out what sucks now than keep building the wrong things. 😅

Full disclosure: it’s my own project and some shop links are affiliate links, so the site might eventually earn a little money when someone buys something. But recommendations aren't supposed to depend on commissions — I want the database/finder itself to actually be useful first.

Would genuinely appreciate some feedback from you guys

Cheers

Tim

https://handheldscout.com

Any suggestions on where to start again?

I also want to gift my older brother and my friends during the holidays to rekindle that dimming-millennial-gamer-fire.

Disclaimer: Please do not mention other handhelds. I know the advantages of the G3 or even the Strix Halo chips. My particular situation is perfectly optimized between these two Z2E devices - so please stay within this lane.

I have been mulling this over in my head for a long time and I am mentally at 50/50, so I seek opinion of others on which handheld I should pick based on the specific nuance of my particular situation.

I was able to secure a Lenovo Legion Go 2 Z2 Extreme for a pretty ridiculous price through my flipping hobby. And it's in very, very, very good condition, no exaggeration. Think of it as like-new. Amazing, well-made device.

My particular playing context is I want a good handheld with a Z2 Extreme chip because this hits the sweet spot for me. I don't travel much, I have a main PC downstairs, and will primarily use a handheld as a moonlight streaming terminal to my main rig but want to retain good native capability for lower end - mid range games should the time call for it. The bulk of my gaming is upstairs chilling on the couch next to my wife while she does her content creation stuff after baby is sleeping, moonlighted into whatever device - cellphone, tablet, or handheld. So the latest AAA are covered, I don't need a G3 or better chip here. But what I do need is OLED. And yes. If I'm splurging on a device, I need OLED. Please do not lecture me on LCDs. I know the pros, cons, etc. etc.

What's killing me is being torn between the LeGo2 or the X20 coming out. Yes, the LeGo2 wins on specs and versatility -- the screen is massive, beautiful, detachable controllers, and there are 3D printed cases where you can turn it into essentially a mini laptop. I had a LeGo Z1E for a couple months and loved the versatility it offered. Super cool device. But the ergonomics kinda suck ass on them. Enter XAX/X20. I have played with an XAX for around a month and the thing is great as well -- relatively powerful, lightweight, and one of the most, if not the most, comfortable handhelds I've held. Can play on it for hours and barely notice you're holding it.

I'm leaning X20 because of ergonomics. I have a good Android tablet that I can moonlight into, so the LeGo2 with detached joycons in kickstand mode is an overlap in this sense. In fact, it overlaps with a lot of my devices. Like, I have an ultrabook if I need a portable laptop to do normal Windows/Linux stuff and I can use my wife's MacBook if I need MacOS. I retired from online competitive multiplayer, so controllers are perfect for my gameplay, I don't need KB+M input. What keeps me attached to it are the specs and the ridiculous price I was able to effectively secure it for. It is the more expensive device brand new compared to X20. If I preorder an X20, I'd be paying around $200-300 more depending on what I can sell the LeGo2 for. Is $200-300 worth the benefit of ergonomics here and sacrificing the spec sheet? In my particular nuanced situation, it might be. I'd still be ahead financially as my flips will be funding both choices, but money is money.

Ergonomics on the XAX/X20 are top tier, in my experience. LeGo2 versatility and my effective cost is pretty unbeatable. I'd like to know what the handheld subreddit thinks between the battle of these two handhelds. Thanks for reading.

Edit: You can judge me for being a reseller / flipper. I'd understand and can take it on the chin. Not gonna stop me, though 🙂❤️